Thursday, April 03, 2014

Twitter — and I refer to Twitter specifically because I have no social footprint elsewhere — is one of the purest forms of democratic networks you can find today. The Twitter experience doesn’t depend on your number of followers or how many tweets you fire off each day. It’s defined by its accessibility and transparency.

The Newsprint has been a busy place as of late. Many new people have ventured around and visited the site. Others have talked about a few of the ideas. And still others have written entire articles about a topic discussed on the site. It’s incredibly flattering to have an impact on someone’s daily life.

This is all due to Twitter.

Last Friday, I woke up and posted a review of the DashPlus analog note-taking system. I concluded the review by stating that the system wasn’t meant for me but that it has incredible potential for others. I was positive but not overly positive. I was certainly not positive enough to be worthy of a thank you letter delivered in the mail.

That conclusion spawned a conversation with the creator of the DashPlus system. Patrick Rhone has 4,000+ followers and is known around the world for his mobile productivity habits. We discussed the shortcomings of the DashPlus system and our discussion resulted in an article which outlined fixes to his system.

Later that day, another Twitter figure ventured onto The Newsprint. Matt Gemmell is one of the most talented writers on the Internet today. He has written about many different topics and his use of the vernacular is flawless. Matt is a role model for many self-publishers online.

Matt tweeted a link to an article on The Newsprint and his tweet sent a resounding number of visitors to the site. More than that, his tweet struck up a conversation between him and I that will have a lasting impression. Despite our differing political beliefs, Matt responded professionally and with extreme courtesy in our conversation.

Lastly, Matt’s tweet regarding The Newsprint’s article was responded to by Glenn Fleishman. Glenn is renowned on the Internet. He is the editor of The Magazine and is an Internet phenomenon. I remember watching him on Jeopardy a few years ago and was astounded at his level of intelligence.

And he conversed with me as a result of Matt’s tweet.

I probably come off as an awestruck boy taking in his first Yankee game right behind the dugout. Maybe I am a little star struck.

But has there ever been a point in human history where someone as insignificant as myself could talk directly with a man of Patrick Rhone’s stature? Moreover, has there ever been a point where I would be able to help a man with his stature? In what world does someone like me get to have a conversation with an individual who has 30,000+ fans? And could I ever fathom talking to the Glenn Fleishman from Jeopardy? Never in a million years.

I don’t think there has ever been a time in history where the world — and more importantly, the world’s people — have ever been so accessible.

Individuals with little clout can converse with some of the most widely followed people in the world. Individuals who happen to be in the right place at the right time can tell the entire world about what they just experienced. Individuals who have significance have a simple 140-character medium to interact with their fans.

And Twitter is free for all to use.

The Internet is the world’s largest, most diverse library. With a smartphone, any human being can access that library from almost any spot in the world.

In comparison, Twitter is the world’s largest, most transparent postal service. Within a few seconds, I can send a message to the Prime Minister of Canada and his phone will beep.[1] He can read that message and respond in a short reply.

Citizens have never had that kind of access to their political representatives. Starstruck fans have never had that kind of access to their heros . North Americans have never had such access to Australians. And vice versa.

Now that’s what I call power. And that’s the power of Twitter.

Assuming notifications are turned on and his Twitter account isn’t associated with his secretary’s Twitter client. ↩